Maverick MiGs? Ukraine jets give low fly-by to defiant cities

The Ukrainian army is ramping up psychological pressure on regions engulfed in anti-government protests. The skies over cities in eastern Ukraine are resounding to the roar of attack helicopters and fighter jets.

The so-called counter-terrorist operation announced by the
coup-imposed government in Kiev is raging on in Ukraine’s eastern
regions.

The Ukrainian Air Force has deployed a number of military
helicopters and fighter jets, which have taken to the skies above
the cities of Kramatorsk and Slavyansk in the rebellious Donetsk
region.

The authorities in Kiev of course realize that using military
aviation against civilian protesters, the absolute majority of
which remain unarmed, would be utterly insane.

So, an original ‘solution’ was found on how to make use of
fighter jets to fight the mutiny in the Russian-speaking regions
of the country.

Ukrainian pilots are now burning tons of expensive aviation fuel
to frighten rebellious cities into compliance by roaring fighter
jets above the heads of the activists.

Curiously, one fighter jet filmed scaring people has been
identified as a MiG-29 from the former Ukrainian Falcons
aerobatic group. It was easily recognizable by its unmistakable
blue-yellow insignia. This raised speculation on the
internet concerning the state of the Ukrainian Air Force, with
some social media users jeering that “the only
operational” Ukrainian jets were used in aerobatics.

The Ukrainian Falcons team was disbanded in 2002 after a tragic
crash at the Sknilov airshow near the western Ukrainian city of
Lvov, in which 77 people, including 28 children, were killed.
Following the investigation into the disaster, two pilots and
several officials were sentenced to up to 14 years in prison.

It must be noted that just several weeks ago the Kiev authorities
announced a nationwide fund to supply the country’s army because
it turned out that the troops are not only undersupplied and
armed with outdated weapons, but also simply don’t have enough
fuel to operate military hardware .

Commentators on the videos demonstrating the might of the
Ukrainian Air Force note that during the years of independence
Ukrainian authorities were somewhat lax in supplying enough fuel
for training combat pilots. Now it appears that Ukrainian pilots
are trying to make up for lost time by performing the kind of
risky stunts they were deprived of for so many years.